All’s Fair at Fair Weather Bushwick

Patrons depending on Fair Weather Bushwick for their regular java fix have been in for quite the surprise lately. Because in lieu of serving all-day Turkish coffee and organic pastries in her brick-paneled, Wi-Fi-enabled hideaway, owner Ebru Brun pushed back opening hours to as late as 8pm, replaced the bean supply with bottles of Hof ten Dormaal Saison, and hollowed out the back of the tapered room, in order to accommodate a legitimate working kitchen.

As much as she believed the neighborhood needed a quality coffee shop near Bushwick’s far-flung Myrtle-Wyckoff train, she decided they required an inventive restaurant destination even more. Which is why Brun partnered with chef John Creger (formerly of Artisanal and Le Cirque), for a total conceptual about-face; offering an expansive brunch on the weekends, a la carte dinner service on Friday and Saturday, and most ambitiously, a 10-course $65 tasting menu, during a single seating every Tuesday-Thursday night.

More akin to a convivial, semi-secret supper club than a traditional sit-down spot, up to 22 participants are greeted with gratis glasses of bubbly, before gathering around a communal, reclaimed-wood table. From there, Creger takes evident pleasure in crafting and conducting every aspect of the experience, from coordinating the playlist—coupling instrumentals like RJD2’s “Ghostwriter” with a starter of Welsh rarebit potato, owing to the song’s slow mellow build and calm energy—to curating beer pairings (the spicy, citrusy Blackberry Farms Saison animates a deconstructed clam chowder that features a mollusk grilled and cooked in its own juices, then served in the shell with bacon, crispy leeks and trout roe).

Add in an exploration of cauliflower “textures” striped with gremolata and brown butter powder, and a dessert comprised of whiskey, chocolate and smoke (paired with Evil Twin’s Even More Jesus Stout and the track “Budapest Eskimos’” by The Lushlife Project, whose vocals reflect dinner conversations between strangers who have now become friends) and this is aspirant stuff indeed for an establishment that used to vend scones. There’s no question that Creger and Brun have taken a real chance on the neighborhood; residents would be well advised to return the favor.